Ana White DIY TV Console

When it comes to DIY projects on Pinterest, I normally JUST pin them…but after the move recently and after we had sold almost ALL of our hand-me-down furniture, I decided it was time to find my “style” per-say. Not to mention we kind of REQUIRED certain items after selling EVERYTHING. So I started browsing my Home DIY Board on Pinterest and chose our first piece that I desperately wanted to build! Of course my “style” seemed to be a vintage-cottage, yet clean look, so taking that in to perspective I chose the plans from Ana White for the Rustic X Console. <<<

Ana White plans are seriously the bomb-dot-com by the way. If you have never heard of her I encourage you to check out her website here! Not only does she provide you with a “Buy List,” but also a full cut list for your pieces, as well as the hardware and tools required to complete the project. Not to mention her plans are all for you to use FOR FREE!

Unfortunately I did not take any progress pictures during the building process! Since this was our first built piece of furniture EVER, I wanted my sole focus on figuring this sucker out. I can definitely tell you from our experience…maybe try an easier piece of furniture first! This is definitely an Intermediate project! We also made a few modifications during the building process since we do not possess a Kreg Jig and our attempts to create pocket holes with a drill were just a mess. We ended up ditching the screws entirely after putting the frame together, and resorted to shelving holders with the extra wood, wood glue, and a nail gun.

This might sound sketchy, especially if you are anything like us and have no idea when you first start putting the sucker together, but we were getting the helpful advice of our roommates dad, who is an avid home DIYer. The building process took us a weekend to complete, that includes the build, the sanding, and the staining. For all the materials and the painting supplies this baby ran us about $85 TOTAL to put together! My all time favorite aspect of this piece is how awesome the staining turned out! It gives our living room an entire new feeling, just a lighter tone where before we had all black furniture! NEVER AGAIN.

For the stains (and yes the bottom is also a stain) we used Minwax Dark Walnut for the top and Minwax White Wash Pickling. My favorite aspect of staining furniture is that you can control (for the most part) how light or dark you want your stain to turn out. Make sure to follow the instructions on the stain container if you have never used it before. We also followed up with a sealant since it would be an indoor piece, we used Minwax Polycrylic protective finish in Semi-Gloss.

The next item on my list is getting those cords bundled up and out of sight AND hiding the unsightly wifi router and cable box. We’re still trying to decide whether or not to mount the tv….but I’m not all about putting too big of holes in the apartment walls as of right now. I’m so pleased with how it turned out! Even as beginners in the DIY furniture world, at least we look like pros 😉 There are matching end tables to this same design that are in the works, along with a desk for myself!